75 - 300 Mkll

[Phill D]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

I realy liked my 75-300 unfortunately so did someone else as it got nicked out of my bag!

[MJ224]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

Having struggled with lunar shots with the Oly 75-300mm lens, the Pany 100-400mm definitely outclass's the Oly.

But for general photography, the Oly is good.

But in the end you get what you pay for........................

[benvendetta]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

I really want to love mine too.

[Greytop]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

I have the Olympus 75-300 mk2 and my wife has the Lumix 100-300 and I can't see any image quality difference between them, but I prefer the Olympus, because the Lumix has a very stiff zoom action. Her Lumix 100-400 also has a very stiff zoom.

Having also owned both I agree with Stewart's comments, in my experience there is little to chose between them.

75-300 MkII


Panny 100-300

[pdk42]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

I had the Panasonic 100-300 and was always disappointed with it. f5.6 on u43 is pretty slow. f6.3 slower still (although not by much I accept!). As such, I only ever shot it wide open and at 300mm it was somewhat soft and lacking contrast. I replaced it with the 50-200 and whilst it has much less reach, it's way sharper and of course faster. f3.5 vs f5.6 is a big difference.

I don't do a lot of long lens work, so it's perfectly adequate for what I need. If I were into bird shots etc then the 40-150 Pro plus TC would be hard to resist. There's a new Panasonic 50-200 rumoured too.

[PeterBirder]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

I'm very happy with the results I get with the Olympus 75-300mm MKII having previously owned the Panasonic 100-300mm and been less impressed with that.

Here's a shot I took yesterday in the gloom between sleet showers. (Also taken through the double glazing.)



Taken on the E-M10 MKII. 300mm, f6.7, 1/50th sec, ISO 1600, focus distance 12.25m.

Regards.

[MJ224]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

The Oly 75-300mm is a good lens and works well in "normal" conditions.

But having bought the 'pany 100-40mm, I have not used the Oly since.

However, the 'pany is huge and heavy by comparison, and knocks the portability of the MFT system.

The Oly lens works well in good light and not too extreme circumstances..

Good value for money.

Just MHO

[c12402]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

I've it since two years, and madre some night picas with it. A sample: P8180845_DxO by Juan Guerrero, en Flickr

It's an ISO 200, long exposure, but quite usable (IMHO).

[MJ224]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll



Alas, I have to say that I am not thrilled with this 75-300mm Zuiko lens.

Photo above was take at about 20 yard range, and I am disappointed in the lack of feather detail. Using the EM1 mk2 handheld at 1/1250 shutter speed.

Can never be quite sure if its me or the lens, but I think I get so much better results with the Panasonic 100-400mm lens.

450 shots taken at Slimbridge yesterday, and really only a couple of keepers, and not very happy with those.

Do not wish to blame tools etc, but not too happy with the lens alas..........

[c12402]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

This 75-300mm mk2 is the lens I'm currently using for birding, and for 350€ is not the best we can get in terms of sharpeness but I think is a relatively good value.

I'm using it at a max of 250mm to achieve decent sharpeness, at 300mm it degrades significantly.

I'm also looking for an alternative, and the 100-400mm is possibly the best, but it has one caveat: the em1.2 Pro modes does not work, and this is quite a good reason to buy that camera for birding.

In terms of sharpeness there is a clear advantage for 100-400mm but it cost 4 times more. DxO and other test shows clearly that advantage, although I'm not totally convinced it deserves the investment due to the aforementioned incompatibility.

Maybe I end up buying it and use normal continuos shooting but I'm still hesitant.

This is a picture taken with the Oly, it has not the best compared with others but not bad in terms of sharpeness.

https://flic.kr/p/T5N934

[bredman]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

As long as you remember this is a slow consumer grade budget tele zoom you'll get on fine with this lens. Modern long lenses will be optimised for near distance use as that's how they are tested and reviewed, and shooting longer range subjects has it's own difficulties anyway. Summer dust and pollen will mess up images and heat haze can occur all year round and not only when it's warm, interfering with IQ and AF performance.

I haven't used mine much, maybe a dozen times as i have better options but i found it best kept within 230mm and focus within say 30m distance. Here's a couple of ok shots. The geese were about 50m distant, the others were 10-20m. The owl is a large crop and poorly processed but you'll get the gist. Full exif on flickr.


Original Geese Pair by Pete O'Sullivan, on Flickr


Golden Phragmites by Pete O'Sullivan, on Flickr


Gotcha -- Young Long Eared Owl by Pete O'Sullivan, on Flickr

[PeterBirder]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

Alas, I have to say that I am not thrilled with this 75-300mm Zuiko lens.

Photo above was take at about 20 yard range, and I am disappointed in the lack of feather detail. Using the EM1 mk2 handheld at 1/1250 shutter speed.

Can never be quite sure if its me or the lens, but I think I get so much better results with the Panasonic 100-400mm lens.

450 shots taken at Slimbridge yesterday, and really only a couple of keepers, and not very happy with those.

Do not wish to blame tools etc, but not too happy with the lens alas..........

Hi Mark.
I hope you don't mind me saying this but the shot you posted in your "Flying Duck" thread using the 100-400mm seems to have the same lack of detail etc as this shot. I am beginning to wonder if this is due to the use of silent shutter or some other setting or processing that is not ideal.

Regards.

[Mrs T]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

Hi Mark.
I hope you don't mind me saying this but the shot you posted in your "Flying Duck" thread using the 100-400mm seems to have the same lack of detail etc as this shot. I am beginning to wonder if this is due to the use of silent shutter or some other setting or processing that is not ideal.

Regards.

Hi Peter,

That is a very interesting observation as at the WWT London Wetland Centre last week I took some pictures of a lapwing and heron from one of the hides. Some shots turned out fine, but some were bleary and lacking detail (unfortunately I have deleted them as they were so bad so can't post them). I was using silent shutter. So I wonder if you are on to something. Many shots turned out fine though, so I wonder why the difference?

Amanda

[MJ224]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

I am getting a spread of good to bad shots too. Not sure if its my techniques rather than kit though.

My avocet shots from 20 yards where so disappointing, despite the camera being rested on a window cill.

May try not using the silent mode for a while and see if there is any improvement before jumping off a cliff (joke)

Amanda, what IBIS do you use with the Pany 100-400? I use both camera and lens, which may result in a conflict. Will try just the camera for a while, though my feeling is that the lens IBIS is better........

Thanks Peter for your input, will work thru a few combinations..

minefield.............

[PeterBirder]

Re: 75 - 300 Mkll

Hi Peter,

That is a very interesting observation as at the WWT London Wetland Centre last week I took some pictures of a lapwing and heron from one of the hides. Some shots turned out fine, but some were bleary and lacking detail (unfortunately I have deleted them as they were so bad so can't post them). I was using silent shutter. So I wonder if you are on to something. Many shots turned out fine though, so I wonder why the difference?

Amanda

Hi Amanda.

Two thoughts.
One. I understand that the E-M1 MKII has a much faster readout for silent shutter and therefore is less susceptible to "rolling shutter effect" however it is still the case that if there is movement of the subject there will be some effect. Birds are notorious for never being completely still and their feathers can be moved by the gentlest breeze. Furthermore I believe that the small angle of view of a "long" lens effectively magnifies any movement. Worth thinking about.

Two. Olympus have always said that IBIS should be switched off when using the camera on a tripod/monopod etc. ie. anything other than hand held. If you are shooting hand held with IBIS on and are then tempted to rest the camera/lens on a ledge etc. to get a shot without switching off IBIS there could be a problem.

Regards.